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“God created you with an awesome purpose for your life. Through prayer, Bible study, and community with other believers you can discover His plan for you. The Rock has opportunities to help you grow in your walk with God. Take advantage of these classes and resources.”

Story

The sounds of boxers warming up with their trainers pokes
through the jovial banter and greetings as spectators file through the double
doors to take their seats before the red, white and blue boxing ring. A sea of
faces from varying backgrounds and ages look up in excitement; young children clamor
up on their parent’s laps to get a better view of the big screens hanging
behind colored spotlights and waiting ring girls.

The lights dim and conversation fades to a whisper. The
creak of chairs split the near silence as the crowd waits in anticipation for
the announcer to step into the boxing ring smack in the middle of the
Sanctuary.

He raises his microphone and smiles in salutation. “Welcome
to the Rock Church!”

Battling for Ourroops

On Sunday, March 9, 2013 The Rock Church was proud to
sponsor the first Battle for the Troops event, which held seventeen amateur
boxing matches, including three at the Olympic level. All proceeds of the event
will benefit the wounded vets here at The Rock.

The day boasted several hours of family fun with rock
climbing, skateboarding, bounce houses, a karate demo, and food vendors. Raffle
tickets were sold for awesome prizes ranging from complimentary boxing lessons,
health supplements, meals at local restaurants and a 40-inch flat screen TV.
All ticket sales also went to the cause of supporting our veterans.

The spirit of God
made itself known as the hundreds of attendees, many who had never before stepped
foot in a church, interacted side by side in both the pre- and post-fight
events, creating a sense of community that touched the hearts of many.

Abraham and Julie Alvarez, members of The Rock Point Loma,
brought their two sons to the event, purchasing raffle tickets to help support
our wounded warriors.

“It’s for a good cause,” Julie said. “And it’s a great way
to get out and meet other people in the church outside of Sunday worship.”

Chris Byrd, former boxer and two-time heavyweight champion
of the world—and also a member of The Rock Church North County, was on hand. He
shared words of encouragement to all the young and aspiring athletes in
attendance, as well as thanking The Rock for making such a day happen.

“This event is off the charts!” he said. “I cannot believe
we are in a church!”

Giving Back

Craig and Diane Carrillo, who joined The Rock after their
recent move to southern California, volunteered to work at the t-shirt stand
outside of the Rockpile Bookstore, selling t-shirts commemorating the event.

“There is always something or somewhere that allows people
to connect here,” Craig said. “That’s what we love about The Rock.”

When asked about the event itself, they thought that holding
a boxing match was an awesome idea.

“People walk through these doors where they would never have
been here before,” Diane said. “This event gives us [The Rock] the opportunity
to connect with them and invite them back.”

Fighting for God

When asked why in the world The Rock would hold a boxing
event inside of a church, Pastor Miles responded with a smile, “Because we can!”

With a charismatic grin, he then elaborated: “We fight the
Devil every single day for God, and it’s a matter of life and death. Yet we
cannot win that fight without God.”

After a powerful message about the importance of having God
in your corner and watching your back in your daily struggle, the crowd bowed their heads as Pastor
Miles led the sanctuary inprayer. He asked
for anyone who had never given their lives to God and wanted His presence to
fill their hearts to raise their hands.

Silence hung heavy over the sea of bowed heads as hands rose
silently in the air.

Support staff quickly moved through the isles, handing out
Bibles and devotionals as more hands rose; from single attendees to entire
families with children.

By the end of the night one hundred hearts had surrendered
to God as new soldiers of Christ.

Yes, I’d say that God definitely proved the victor last
night.

For
we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers
and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world,
and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12 NLT)

Fight Recaps

Bout #1:

Juanito Garcia

Anthony Carilla – Winner

Quick and nimble, the opening fight of the night brought out
two young boxers just into their teens who put on a great show through all
three rounds with quick advances and responding counter punches. Anthony came
out as victor to a cheering crowd.

Bout #2:

Jerred
Quezadas

Daniel Ruiz – Winner

The two teens both expressed their desire to make it to the
big ring, and neither disappointed in their match. Audible pops rang out as
gloves connected and shoes shuffled across the stretched canvas of the
platform. Jerred took a hard blow to the head in the second round and was
issued an 8-count, with the referee declaring Daniel the victor.

Bout #3:

Daniel Ramirez - Winner

Jovanni
Gonzalez

Newbie fighter Jovanni put up a good show against the more
experienced Daniel, who outweighed and outreached him by several inches, and
went down swinging in round 3. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to win the judges
scoring, and Daniel came out on top.

Bout #4:

Franky
Sanchez

Jose “el terro” Pancho – Winner

Round 1 started off exciting and adrenaline rushed as Jose
repeatedly pushed Franky up against the ropes. Jose’s onslaught of constant
jabs and haymakers cornered Franky several times, and even though Franky
finally came back and threw more punches in the third round, Jose’s lead was
too far to overcome.

Bout #5:

Valerie Altavos - Winner

Mercedes
Van Buren

The crowd went absolutely wild as the first of two female
fighters appeared up on the overhead screens. The two girls appeared anything
but amateurs as they dashed out of their corners swinging, and the first round
was a flurry of swift combinations, ending with Mercedes forcing Valerie to
block in the corner in a constant barrage of right and left hooks. The referee
stopped the fight in round 2, handing the decision to Valerie after a good
knock to the side of Mercedes’ head.

Bout #6:

Tristan
“TJ” Setzer

Nick Carrico – Winner

Spurred on by his enthusiastic fans in the front, Nick
started round 1 strong with a series of high-low combinations, forcing Tristan
into defensive mode of counter blocks. The fight exploded in the third round,
and a left hook and uppercut to the jaw left Tristan wobbling on his feet to
give Nick the victory.

Bout #7:

Robert Lopez – Winner

Thair
Ramirez

Thair’s first fight was an impressive start to his boxing
career against experienced Robert. The fight was stopped after the first round
after Thair received a solid punch to the temple leaving him dazed.

Bout #8:

Francisco
Garcia

Ricardo Soto – Winner

These heavyweight boxers brought out the big guns in round
3, as they came at each other like charging bulls to throw their weight behind
the left-right combinations and swinging uppercuts. Francisco proved to be a
worthy opponent in his first fight to victor Ricardo.

Bout #9:

Eric Puente

Nelson Salsar - Winner

Like whirling dervishes, the two teenaged boxers flew out of
their corners at the sound of the bell with constant torrents of hooks and
jabs. The opponents swapped turns ducking under each other’s haymakers and
returning hooks of their own. Eric ended round 3 with a double jab to Nelson’s
jaw.

Bout #10:

Abduloh
Nemantago

Steven Mendoza - Winner

Steven rocked his opponent’s head back with a left jab to
the jaw, only to find himself locked in a rapid assault of right and left hooks
from Abduloh. They both fought valiantly until Abduloh suffered a close-range
jab to the jaw and stumbled. He came back swinging, but was unable to take back
the lead.

Bout #11:

Tyler Herberger – Winner

John
Vasquez

Tyler received several warnings throughout the fight about
holding his opponent while delivering uppercuts, though the fight was a close
match as John delivered his own series of combinations and shovel hooks. Both
opponents showed excellent sportsmanship as John was hailed the victor, and
then later called back to stage to clear up a scoring issue to instead name
Tyler as the correct winner.

Bout #12:

Ronald Locsin – Winner

Miguel
Sanchez

Both boxers circled the ring, constantly moving and dodging
their opponents’ attacks until not an inch of platform had been left untouched.
Points were quickly racked up in round 1, as Ronald showed amazing evasion
technique,managing to avoid most of
Miguel’s thrown punches.

Bout #13:

Jessica Ramirez – Winner

Latisha Smith

The crowd roared and colorful “I love you!” posters dotted
the audience as the second female fight began. Latisha had the obvious
advantage of reach, but that did not slow Jessica’s rush at the first ding of
the bell. Jessica continuously cornered Latisha with combinations of jabs and
haymakers, with Latisha being saved by the bell in round 2. The girls fought it
out evenly in round 3, but Jessica’s lead in points had become a wide stretch.

Bout #14:

Brian Nevarez – Winner

Christian
Olivas

These middleweights took their time sizing each other up,
their movements slow and calculated. They seemed a good match, regularly
trading blows to the head and body, and at the end of round 3 it came down to a point calculation to
determine a winner.

Bout #15:

Houssain
Fakhreddine

Gabriel Hernandez – Winner

Both boxers landed solid body shots, the connections audible
over the cheer of the crowd. By round 3 the weariness from their active match
became evident, as Houssain led the round with a right hook only to be
countered by Gabriel’s quick jabs.

Bout #16:

Alex “the Great” Robinson – Winner

Nicholas
Cortez

A classic case of David and Goliath, Nicholas towered over
Alex with an eight-inch reach advantage. Though it quickly became clear that
size does not always matter, as Alex took the role of aggressor, knocking
Nicholas against the ropes twice in the second round. Round 3 started in a rush
as Alex pressed Nicholas into the corner and landed an impressive right hook to
his opponent’s jaw.

Bout #17:

Daniel
Arrores

George Gonzalez – Winner

An animated fight from the beginning, the match was evenly
paced and mobile throughout all three rounds. Both boxers favored haymakers and
hooks to the body, their heavy gloves connecting with easily heard cracks and
pops that rang throughout the sanctuary. The two boxers showed excellent
sportsmanship as they closed the event for the night.